Zwolle railway station

The railway station of Zwolle opened in 1864 and is a major hub, as all trains from and to the north of the Netherlands have to pass Zwolle.

Along the city canal

Arriving in the centre of Zwolle by a nice path along the 'Stadsgracht' (City Canal). And turning right..

..onto a bridge called 'Nieuwe Havenbrug'. Note that it is still decorated with colourful flowers on the lamp posts, even though we're pretty far in October!

Giacometti

Both photos in this post show art by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966). They are part of the Fundatie Museum's current exhibition 'Facing Fear', with sculptures by Giacometti and English sculptor Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003). Their work pictures the sense of fear and disillusionment that pervaded Europe during the Cold War period.

In Giacometti's work he reduces the human (and animal) form to its bare essentials.
´Walking Man´ is seen as the ultimate symbol of the solitary traveller in time that we each are in our heart of hearts. Despite his attenuated boday and narrow head, the walking man is inseparably connected to the earth by his larege, heavy feet. -from the museum's info.

Sculpture reflection

Zooming into the bottom part of a large and shiny sculpture in front of the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle, that I visited earlier today. On the left you can see the reflection of the columns at the museum entrance.

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

Fiep Westendorp illustrations

A while ago the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle presented a small exhibition showing a number of orginal illustrations made by Fiep Westendorp (1916-2004). Westendorp was a very well known Dutch illustrator for children's books. The drawing above is a nice example. The text ('t is altijd Big Ben weer!) means: it's always Big Ben weather!

Three generations (including myself) grew up by knowing her for her drawings in B&W in 'Jip en Janneke', a series of children's books written by Annie M.G. Schmidt. They tell about the lives of 2 children, together wit Takkie the dog and Siepie the cat. The books are known for its simplicity and wit, and are still popular these days.

Stairs

Of course you can take the elevator, but why not take the stairs. Photo taken at the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle.

A view from the top floor

The top floor of the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle was built in the shape of an egg, or a cloud as some people see it. (see an earlier post HERE) The view outside offers this: ..

.. the old city centre of Zwolle, with the Peperbus tower there on the left.

Neo Rauch in Zwolle #2

Following up on yesterday's post I have a few more photos of the paintings by German artist Neo Rauch. His works that are currently exhibited in the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle are called dreamy, surreal, and whimsical.

Some of his paintings are colourful, others dark, some monochrome. This one in pink shades appealed to me a lot.

Neo Rauch in Zwolle #1

The Fundatie Museum in Zwolle currently shows 65 works by Neo Rauch (1960, Leipzig - Germany). The paintings are huge -the biggest one is 3 x 4,2 metres-, and they "transport the viewer to an apparently familiar world where, on closer inspection, the feeling of familiarity soon dissapears to be replaced  by confusion, and sometimes unease." (from the museum's website)

Rauch sees his paintings as 'Kreaturen", living creatures. They breath, expand, and need time to mature, both material as well as content. There is happening a lot on his paintings; the longer you view them, the more interesting they get. This second one is named "Geschäft" ("Business")
To read more about the exhibition please check the Museum's website HERE.

The Water Exhibition: Diura

Another magnificent piece from the exhibition in Zwolle (see also last Thursday's post) is this inkjetprint by photographer Alex ten Napel (1958). It is one of his waterportraits and is called 'Diura'.

The Water Exhibition: H2Out

This year's Summer exhibition in De Fundatie Museum in Zwolle has everything to do with water. Several months ago an open invitation went out to artists to join and send in an art piece, which resulted in 250 works in 2 or 3 dimensions, print editions, crafts and performance art. The water theme was inspired by the museum´s location in the water rich areas of the province of Overijssel.
The installation on the photo is called 'H2Out', H2O referring to water of course, and the word 'hout' is Dutch for 'wood'. It was created by Johan Visser (1947).

ATM mural

In one of the side streets from the Diezerstraat in the city of Zwolle I spotted this mural of an ATM machine, looking quite real if you just pass it and see it from the corner of your eye. I had to look twice, can you believe it haha :) There even is a sign saying `Deze geldautomaat is tijdelijk buiten gebruik´ ('this machine is temporarily out of service').

I'm linking to Monday Murals.

Zwolle canal reflection

On foot from the train station to the city centre of Zwolle, a few weeks ago. The street on the left is the Burgemeester van Roijensingel.

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

Miffy statue

Another interesting artwork by South African artist Joseph Klibansky is this "Equilibrio Iconico", a statue of Miffy that embodies the idea of balance between career, family life and youth. It belongs to the exhibition "Leap of Faith", now in the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle.

In 2015 -when 60 years of Miffy were celebrated- the statue was part of the Miffy Art Parade, to honour Miffy, her creator and fans of all ages worldwide. If you would like to read more about the project and the other artists that took part click HERE.

Ghost sign

On the corner of the Diezerstraat and Hagelstraat in Zwolle is this ghost sign saying "Kent u onze Haagsche, Saksische en vitamine leverworst?", a Dutch advertisement meaning "Do you know our Hague, Saxon and vitamin liverwurst?". The lit. translation for our 'leverworst' would be 'liver sausage' though according to the web the word 'liverwurst' is used as an anglicization of the German 'Leberwurst'.

Are you still with me? ;)

Here in the Netherlands liverwurst is commonly eaten on sandwiches, or in slices as savoury bites. Apparently the Dutch city of The Hague and Saxony (a federal state of Germany) are known for their own types of liverwurst. And for the word 'vitamin' in the advertisement: liverwurst contains a lot of vitamin A.

The wall advertisement belonged to J.H.G. Alferink, who owned a butchery here from 1940.

I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Kamperstraat, Zwolle

View into the Kamperstraat in Zwolle. The tower in the background is the 75 m high Onze-Lieve-Vrouwetoren ('Our Lady Tower'), known as the Peperbus or 'Pepper Box' because of its shape.

Weekend Reflections

Recently I showed you a few items from the exhibition "Leap of Faith" with works by South African contemporary artist Joseph Klibansky, currently in the Fundatie Museum in Zwolle. This is another eye-catching item.

"Klibansky's exhibition revolves around our current concept of 'faith', which is no longer experienced strictly from a religious perspective, but felt more as a general sentiment of hope for mankind and the planet's future. This idea is clearly expressed in the larger than life bronze sculpture that gave the exhibition its title. It depicts an astronaut carrying a heavy golden cross, a powerful amalgam of modern and old symbols." (From the museum website)

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

Diezerstraat

View into the Diezerstraat, the main shopping street in Zwolle.

Jewellery shop sign

Above the entrance of Duijvestein Juweliers (Duijvestein Jewellery) in the Diezerstraat in Zwolle hangs a pretty clock, or large pocket-watch. Isn't it nice with it's golden details..

The main purpose of a sign is to attract attention, and I think it does just that. For me anyway ;)

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Wall advertising

For dozens of years there was an empty frame on a wall along the Papenstraat in Zwolle. Then, on request of the owner of the building, the inside of the frame was examined and old text was discovered underneath several layers of paint. After 150 hours of carefully scraping away paint, 5 different historical wall advertisements were found dating from the period 1890-1955: from a shoemaker, two from a bicycle dealer, and two from a furniture maker.

Two sheets of paper underneath the frame explain what can be seen here. Nice fact is that the cleaning project was named "Project Toverbal" ("The Gobstopper Project"), as -like the candy reveals different colours- each layer dissolves a different item.
For a few more photos from the project go to their website HERE.

I'm linking to Monday Mural.